Portable foldable shelter

ABSTRACT

A portable shelter having a storage container and a roof and wall section that folds in 180* folded configuration for storage in the storage container, leaving a large storage space in the lower portion of the container. Foldable roof support beams are stored below the roof and wall section in the container. End walls are hinged to floor sections which fold out from opposite sides of the storage container. Flysheets are secured to the roof and wall sections and have locking seals which attach to flanges on the central container endwalls and floor to provide seals. Leveling jacks are attached to the floor sections to level the floor of the shelter.

United States Patent PATENTE-IU 1m28 um SHEET 3 UF 6 PTENTED DEC28 197iSHEET 5 UF 6 i y #1910 JA.

PORTABLE FOLDABLE SHELTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been thecommon practice when providing troop shelters to build shelters that aresomewhat permanent in nature, though they may be called portableshelters. However, the need for relocation and mobility in limitedwarfare situations requires lightweight, highly mobile shelters.Experience has proven that troops living in an austere situation willcontinue to elevate their standard of living utilizing any free timeavailable. A design which would avoid this environmental deficiencywould make more man-hours available to be devoted to the assigned tasks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention a lightweight100 percent recoverable portable shelter which may be stored in storagecontainer 3X8 I3Xfeet expands into a shelter 8 I3X33 feet. A novelfolding pattern for the wall and roof of an accordion type structurepermits the walls and roof to fold in a 180 configuration for storage toleave about 160 cubic feet of storage area for personal gear such ascots, pillows and other gear. Folding end walls and floor members unfoldfrom the sides of the storage container. Foldable roof support beams aresecured to the center structure and end walls. The accordion wall androof structure is secured to the center structure, floor and end wallswith special type seals.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fully erected shelterof the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partially cutaway view of the shelter of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the shelter of FIG. I in its stored condition.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of one wall and roof section for the device ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows the scoring system for the device of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows one of the fold lines of the device of FIG. 4 in its fullyfolded condition.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the device of FIG. 1 with one of the floorand end wall sections in its partially extended position.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the device of FIG. 7 in a further extendedposition.

FIG. 9 shows floor levelingjacks attached to the floor section.

FIG. l0 is an enlarged illustration showing a partially cut away viewofa levelingjack attached to the floor section.

FIG. 1l shows one of the foldable support beams for the device of FIG.l.

FIG. 12 shows the locking mechanism for the device of FIG. 11.

FIG. I3 shows the attachment for the support beam of FIG. 1I and an endwall of the device of FIG. l.

FIG. 14 shows the support and temporary support for the support beamwithin the central storage section.

FIG. 1S shows the central storage section end of the support beam ofFIG. 11 with a roof retainer.

FIG. 16 shows the connection between opposing beams within the centralstorage section.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration showing the support beams and roofand wall section stored within the central storage section.

FIG. I8 is a plan view showing the supports for the support beams in thecentral storage section.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of the device of FIG. 1 with one of the roofand wall sections partially extended.

FIG. 20 shows the attachment of the roof section to the central storagesection.

FIG. 21 shows the attachment used for attaching roof and wall section tothe end wall and the wall section to the central storage section.

FIG. 22 shows the attachment used to attach the wall section to thefloor section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference is now made to FIGS. land 2 of the drawing which shows a shelter l0 having a central storagesection 12, a pair of end wall sections 14, a pair ofexpansibleroofmembers l5 and wall sections 16, roof support beams 18 and a pair offloor sections 20. When the shelter is packed for movement, the roof andwall sections l5 and 16, support beams I8, floor sections 20 and endwalls 14 are stored in the central storage section l2, as shown in FIG.3.

The roof and wall members l5 and 16 are made by scoring a plastic-coatedpolyurethane foam board in the pattern shown in FIG. 4 in the mannershown in FIG. 5, wherein die blocks 22 provide a double indentation toform a folded configuration as shown in FIG. 6. The positive folds areshown as broken lines 23 and the negative folds are shown as dottedlines 24. The juncture of the roof and wall sections shown generally at2S, in FIG. 1, has positive folds 23' forming inverted approximatelyangles and the portion 24" between the vertices having an opposite foldto the fold 23 outside the vertices. Also portion 23" has the oppositefold to the fold portion 24 outside the juncture section. This foldconfiguration permits a fold ofthe wall sections 16.

Bottom flaps 27 and 28 are taped together to form a substantiallystraight line edge for attachment to the floor member, as will beexplained later.

Hinges 26 connect the floor sections to the central section and end walland the two parts of the floor section together so that the floor andend walls fold out from the center storage section 12, in the mannershown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Jacks 30 are attached to floor studs 29, as shown in FIGS. 9 and l0. Thejacks 30 are used to level the floor. A latch mechanism for securing thefloor members 20 in storage section I2 is shown at 19.

Foldable beams 18, shown in greater detail in FIGS. l1 and I2, arehinged at 3l with the ends brought together and secured by tumable hooks32 which engage pins 33. The ends 34 of beam 18 are secured to end wall14 in the manner shown in FIG. 13. At the storage section end, flange36, as shown in FIG. I4, fits into the end 35 of beam I8, shown in FIG.l5. The beams from one side of the shelter are placed in hangers 38until the other side of the shelter is erected. The ends 35 are placedon flanges 36, when both sides of the shelter have been erected, and theends are secured by latches 39, as shown in FIG. 16.

The roof l5 and walls 16 are stored in the position shown in FIG. 17.Straps 42 and 43 pass through loops 45 attached to the central storagecontainer l2 and support the folded roof and wall sections l5 and 16.Folded beams 18 are supported on flanges 47 within the container l2.Items shown schematically at 49, such as tool kits may be stored on thebeams 18. Also the jacks may be stored on beams 18 and may be taken outthrough access door 2l. The compartment 5l below the beam may be usedfor personal items such as beds. Other items, such as exhaust fan 53,may also be located in the storage compartment 51.

After the support beams are in place, the roof and wall section isextended as shown in FIG. I9. The roof is secured to the center section,as at S5, in FIG. 20. A flysheet 57 is secured to flange 58 by afastener 60 to form a weather seal between the roof and the container.Similar weather seals are provided by means of flysheets 62, flanges 63and fasteners 64 between the roof and wall and the end wall as shown inFIG. 2l. Also, a similar seal is provided between the wall I6 and thecenter container. The wall I6 is secured to the floor by means offlysheets 66, flanges 67 and fasteners 68 as shown in FIG. 22. The roof15 is then secured to beams 18 by means of straps 37, shown in FIG. l5.

The wall of the central section, floor, and end wall are made ofconventional honeycomb material to reduce the weight; however, otherlightweight material could be used.

Though the end walls have been described as hinged to the floor members,in some applications the end walls can be separate from thefloor'members.

Means other than jacks can be used for leveling, for example, adjustablefloor pads.

There is thus provided a lightweight, easily constructed, 100 percentrecoverable shelter that can be erected in about 4 man-hours and whichstores in a compact storage container.

We claim:

l. A portable shelter, comprising: a storage container adapted to formthe central portion of said shelter; a first floor member being hingedto one side of said container and a second floor member being hinged tothe other side of said container; each floor member comprising a pair ofhinged floor sections; an end wall member hinged to the outer end ofeach outermost floor section of said floor members; said end wallmembers being foldable with said floor members into opposite sides ofsaid storage container with one of the hinged portions of each of thefloor sections forming the sides of said storage container; a pair ofaccordion-type roof and wall sections connected to said storagecontainer and extensible from opposite sides of the storage containertoward said end wall members; said roof and wall sections being formedfrom flat sheets of foamboard with the roof and walls being formed inaccordion-type pleats; the direction of the fold at the joints betweenthe roof and walls being in the opposite direction to the fold of eachof the folds in the remainder of the roof and wall members; the fold inone direction at the joint of the roof and wall sections being longerthan the folds in the other direction; said folds in the joint beinginterconnected by folds in the same direction as the shorter of thefolds of the roof and wall joint with said interconnecting folds beingon lines forming approximately angles in the unfolded state with theapices of the angles being located at the junction of the folds of theroof and wall joints and the opposite folds of the roof and wallsections whereby said walls extend substantially parallel to said roofsin said storage container; a plurality of roof support beams; means forsupporting one end of said beams in said storage container; means forsupporting the other end of said beams on said end walls; means forsealing the roof and wall sections to said storage container said endwall and said floor members and means for supporting said roof and wallsections and said support beams within said storage container,

2. The device as recited in claim l wherein said support beams arehinged a predetermined distance from one end whereby said beam can befolded for storage in said container; means positioned adjacent thehinge joint for locking said beam in its extended position.

3. The device as recited in claim 2 wherein the means for sealing theroof and wall sections to the end walls, floors and central containerinclude flanges on said end walls, floors and central container andresilient means connected to said roof and wall sections for engagingsaid flanges.

1. A portable shelter, comprising: a storage container adapted to formthe central portion of said shelter; a first floor member being hingedto one side of said container and a second floor member being hinged tothe other side of said container; each floor member comprising a pair ofhinged floor sections; an end wall member hinged to the outer end ofeach outermost floor section of said floor members; said end wallmembers being foldable with said floor members into opposite sides ofsaid storage container with one of the hinged portions of each of thefloor sections forming the sides of said storage container; a pair ofaccordion-type roof and wall sections connected to said storagecontainer and extensible from opposite sides of the storage containertoward said end wall members; said roof and wall sections being formedfrom flat sheets of foamboard with the roof and walls being formed inaccordion-type pleats; the direction of the fold at the joints betweenthe roof and walls being in the opposite direction to the fold of eachof the folds in the remainder of the roof and wall members; the fold inone direction at the joint of the roof and wall sections being longerthan the folds in the other direction; said folds in the joint beinginterconnected by folds in the same direction as the shorter of thefolds of the roof and wall joint with said interconnecting folds beingon lines forming approximately 90* angles in the unfolded state with theapices of the angles being located at the junction of the folds of theroof and wall joints and the opposite folds of the roof and wallsections whereby said walls extend substantially parallel to said roofsin said storage container; a plurality of roof support beams; means forsupporting one end of said beams in said storage container; means forsupporting the other end of said beams on said end walls; means forsealing the roof and wall sections to said storage container said endwall and said floor membErs and means for supporting said roof and wallsections and said support beams within said storage container.
 2. Thedevice as recited in claim 1 wherein said support beams are hinged apredetermined distance from one end whereby said beam can be folded forstorage in said container; means positioned adjacent the hinge joint forlocking said beam in its extended position.
 3. The device as recited inclaim 2 wherein the means for sealing the roof and wall sections to theend walls, floors and central container include flanges on said endwalls, floors and central container and resilient means connected tosaid roof and wall sections for engaging said flanges.